Kapoor’s Cafe, Now At HSR Layout!

After a successful innings in Whitefield (one outlet in Thubarahalli and one on ITPL Road), Kapoor’s Cafe launched a third outlet in HSR Layout recently. I was delighted to be given the opportunity to be part of the new outlet’s launch party, considering that I loved the food at the ITPL Road branch.

Dhol at the Kapoor’s Cafe launch party!

The HSR Layout outlet opened to much dhol beating, dancing, Punjabi-style fanfare and, of course, food!

Location and ambience

The new Kapoor’s Cafe branch is located on the bustling 27th Main in HSR Layout, and finding it is, really, a no-brainer.

The cafe is spread over two floors, with regular table-and-chair seating on one and khatiya/charpoy seating on the other, a la highway dhabas. I think the dhaba-style seating is the best part of the cafe, a highlight for sure. We chose to dine here and, I must say, it is quite a different, beautiful experience to eat that way!

Extreme left: The khatiya seating that all of us fell in love with; Centre: One of the posters on the wall; Right: A handmade lantern

The ambience of the khatiya seating area is something else altogether – with handmade lanterns, bamboo haath-pankhas, and framed posters proclaiming things like ‘I am Punjabi, and I cannot keep calm!’.

Cuisine

Kapoor’s Cafe serves typical North Indian fare, all-vegetarian. The place is famous for its various combo thalis and thick, malai maar-ke dryfruit lassi.

The food and drinks story

The evening of the launch party, we were served chaach (buttermilk) and their famous dryfruit lassi in huge earthen glasses, which lent a lovely feel to them. As always, I loved the lassi, which I think is a must-try, rich and cool and fragrant and utterly refreshing.

Post this, we were served assorted pakoras – cauliflower, paneer, cheese and onion. I loved the onion and cheese ones best, though the latter was a tad spicy for my tastebuds. It was oozing with melted cheese – what’s to not love? The paneer and cauliflower pakoras were just okay.

For main course, we were served dal makhani, aloo (potato) raita, matar (green peas) pulao, pindi chole and paneer lababdar, accompanied by missi roti and phulkas. I heartily loved the dal makhani and matar pulao, simple but soul-satisfying. The pindi chole, paneer lababdar and aloo raita had a beautiful taste, but were way too spicy for me to eat comfortably. The menu does contain a warning for people with a low threshold for spices (like me), which I saw only too late. Oh, well, next time!

The missi roti was lovely, while the phulkas could have been thinner.

Left: Assorted pakoras; Right: The inside of the cheese paratha, at Kapoor’s Cafe

We also got to sample their cheese paratha, which tasted good, but was not outstanding.

For dessert, we were served their signature fruit cream, which I felt was a few notches lower in taste than the brilliant fruit cream I have tasted at their ITPL Road outlet.

Verdict

For lovers of North Indian food, this cafe is definitely a must-visit. Kapoor’s Cafe has a lot of combos and more to offer its patrons. I’d love to visit again, especially this particular branch, to try out more of their offerings.